Physical Aggression and Concurrent Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Adolescents

Abstract

The transition to adolescence involves biological and psychological changes, coinciding with a significant shift in school environment. These factors make young people vulnerable to drinking and smoking. These in turn can lead to aggressive behaviors, especially if they co-occur. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between the use of alcohol and tobacco alone, and the joint use of these substances, with physical aggression in this population. A representative school sample of 14–16 years old adolescents (N = 944) was used (mean age 15.03 years). In the primary GLIMMIX analyses we used the trait-aggression scores as a continuous dependent variable; in the secondary analysis we investigated trait aggression as a categorical variable. Past month prevalence of smoking and drinking was 29.6 and 41.4 %, respectively. The prevalence of joint use was 21.7 %. Drinking and smoking were additively associated with elevated physical aggression, which was significantly higher among joint-users than in single substance users or non-users. Our findings pinpoint the potential importance of the joint use of these substances in the development of aggressive behaviors during this transition period.